Women's Basketball Unable to Comeback Against Pikeville

ATHENS, Tenn.- For only the second time in program history, the women's basketball team played the University of Pikeville Lady Bears. This Saturday's game was the first game betwee the two as Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) opponents as Pikeville joined the conference this past summer. This was the final home game of the 2023 portion of the season for the team.

The game started out rough for the Lady Bulldogs as fell behind 6-0. A pair of free throws by Anna Crowder broke the drought but Pikeville scored the next four points to move ahead 10-2. TWU turned the bleak looking quarter more in their favor as they ended the quarter on a 8-2 run. Crowder scored five points during the run while Jacelyn Stone added two points and Ella Crowder scored one point, making the score 12-10 in favor of Pikeville at the end of the first quarter. 

After an A. Crowder jumper to followed a Pikeville basket, the opponent scored four points to take a six-point lead. Stone's layup succeeded by her three-point play cut the deficit down to one point as the scoreboard read 18-17. Stone kept the scoring going, stealing the ball on the next Lady Bears' following offensive possession to turning it into a layup to give the Lady Bulldogs a 19-18 lead, their first lead of the game. Five more lead changes occurred, with A. Crowder and Mikalee Martin giving the team two more leads. The final lead change of the quarter saw Pikeville take a 24-23 advantage into halftime. 

A three-point play by Stone moved the score to 26-24 in favor of Tennessee Wesleyan to open the third quarter. Pikeville stole the momentum though, scoring nine straight points to take a 33-26 lead. Jaci Powell, Courtney Farr, and A. Crowder scored over the next few segments of the game, bringing the Lady Bulldogs within three points of the lead with the score reading 35-32. A pair of free throws and jump shot by Farr made the score 42-36 but Pikeville ended the third quarter leading 45-36.

The opponents kept the momentum in the fourth quarter, moving ahead 49-36 with eight minutes remaining in the game. Stone broke the scoring drought with a pair of free throws and Powell brought the deficit down to single digits with her free throws making the score 49-40. The team could not pull closer though as Aubrey Long's jumper made the final score read 60-45 in favor of the opponents.

Stone led the offense with 17 points while A. Crowder had 12 points. 

The schedule takes the Lady Bulldogs (4-4, 2-4 AAC) on the road for the remainder of 2023. The first road trip is set for Wednesday when the team travels to face Union College. The conference game is set for 5:30 p.m.